Essay

After Hurricane Katrina, a day at a convention center in Texas provided lessons in dignity and sympathy.

What
exactly
did
I
think
I
was
getting
myself
into?
As
I
approached
the
Austin
Convention
Center’s
loading
dock,
which
was
swarming
with
people,
it
felt
like
an
enormous
hospital—a
hospital
not
only
for
the
sick
but
also
for
the
weary-hearted.
I
had
come
simply
to
see
whether
I
could
help
other
evacuees;
I
didn’t
expect
them
to
teach
me
a
lesson
in
clinical
medicine.I
had
been
living
in
New
Orleans
for
only
six
days
before
leaving
town.
I
never
got
the
chance
to
start
at
Tulane’s
School
of
Public
Health
and
Tropical
Medicine.
Along
with
my
landlord
and
his
family,
I
rode
out
Hurricane
Katrina
in
Houma,
La.,
a
predominantly
Cajun
town
southwest
of
New
Orleans.
I
awoke
the
morning
after
the
storm,
surprised
that...